Learning to Cook

Today I went to a Korean Cooking Class with about twenty other ETAs an hour away in Cheongju. It was amazing. We made kimbap and bulkogi, which I may have spelled wrong because I'm much more used to writing and reading these foods in Korean. One of the OCs came with us to translate but it was also pretty easy to just watch the teacher and then imitate the steps. We first marinated the meat then made the kimbap. Kimbap is basically Korean sushi. Instead of containing raw fish kimbap generally has cooked meats, vegetables and sometimes even cheese! Ours had pickled radish (which is quickly becoming my favorite vegetable), carrot, cucumber, egg, fish, carrot, ham, and imitation crab meat. I was nervous about rolling the wraps but I managed to do a good job. After we made the kimbap we cooked the meat and added in some mushrooms and noodles. After nearly two hours we were ready to eat so the teacher brought out watermelon and kimchi and we ate at our tables. No meal is complete without kimchi in Korea! I cooked with our RA Rachel and my friend Tracey. Rachel is Korean and she actually has her cooking license because she went to a cooking hagwon and then took a written test and completed a practical to get her license. In Korea it is very common to have various licenses for different skills you possess even though the licenses don't really grant you any privileges. For example, Rachel can't even work at a restaurant with just a cooking license.

Our teacher

Our complete meal

Rachel, Tracey and I with our meal

The rest of the weekend I've just been hanging out with friends and studying Korean. The beginner classes all have to give a five minute speech on Monday, which is very daunting. We also have a four hour final exam on Wednesday and then have a class presentation to prepare for our graduation ceremony next weekend. Therefore, I am going to be very busy these next few days and may not be able to write until after we get back from Seoul early next week. After Seoul, we are only in Goesan for a day before we have the big ceremony where we meet our co-teachers and they then take us to our placements. I can't believe I will be in Hwacheon so soon!